Perspective: The dawning of the age of graphene

Abstract

Graphene is a single sheet of carbon atoms that constitutes the basic building block of macroscopic graphite crystals. Held together by a backbone of overlapping sp(2) hybrids, graphene's 2p orbitals form π state bands that delocalize over an entire 2-dimensional macroscopic carbon sheet leading to a number of unusual characteristics that include large electrical and thermal conductivities. Recent discoveries have provided simple methods (e.g., mechanical cleavage of graphite) for preparing laboratory scale samples that can be used to investigate the fundamental physical and chemical characteristics of graphene. In addition, a number of techniques have emerged that show promise for producing large-scale samples with the ultimate goal of developing devices that take advantage of graphene's unusual properties. As large samples become available, the possibility grows for applications of this material in solar cell technology (as flexible, transparent electrodes), in composite material development, and in electronic devices.

First-principles investigation of two-dimensional trichalcogenide and sesquichalcogenide monolayers

“…3 , we found that the bandgap decreases from 2.05 to 1.54 eV when changing Al for In, followed by a change of the valence band maximum (VBM) location while the con-duction band minimum (CBM) is located in the same position (for AlSiTe 3 the VBM and CBM are found between M-Γ and K-M, respectively, while in InSiTe 3 the VBM and the CBM are found at the K and between K-M high symmetries points). According to the calculated partial density of states (PDOS) shown in Fig.…”

“…The interest in two dimensional materials presenting electronic properties different from the ones of graphene [1][2][3] has increased enormously over the last past years. Indeed, although graphene possess an extremely high electron mobility, it lacks a finite bandgap, making its use in transistors difficult.…”

Electronic-structure modification of graphene on Ni(111) surface by the intercalation of a noble metal

“…[3][4][5] The most striking feature of graphene is that quasiparticles are described by the relativistic Dirac equation and behave as massless Dirac fermions in the vicinity of the Dirac point located at the K points, i.e., the corner points in the first Brillouin zone. Freestanding graphene with this feature is a zero-gap semiconductor with vanishing density of states (DOS) at the Fermi level, which coincides with the Dirac point energy and electronically behaves like a semimetal.…”

Modulating the spin transport behaviors in ZBNCNRs by edge hydrogenation and position of BN chain

“…2 The quasi-1D graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have already been fabricated successfully in experiments 3,4 by different physical and chemical methods. GNRs, according to the direction in which the truncation is performed, can mainly be classified into two kinds: zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) and armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs).…”

“…As we all know, GNRs are supposed to be important potential building blocks in future nanoelectronic devices and have attracted great attentions in the past decade. 2,[5][6][7][8][9][10] However, graphene has zero band gap does not meet the requirements of different devices or applications. A number of approaches have been suggested to tailor the electronic structure of graphene to introduce an appreciable band gap, which has been reviewed recently.…”